He looked back at Alex and she sensed he had judged her, found her worthy—and didn’t like it a bit. “It could be really dangerous. I hired you to take pictures, not put your life at risk going after a bunch of crooks with guns.”
“You mean it’s okay if I die falling off a cliff, just don’t get shot?”
“Exactly.” He glared at her. “Look, Alex. I really don’t want you to get hurt. This is serious business. But”—he smiled at her then—“if you can come up with a plan . . .”
“Me? I thought you were the leader of this rescue team.” Crap! What was she saying? It wasn’t like her to give up control of a situation so easily.
“Actually, that’s the only way I’ll consider it.” His light touch on her shoulders forced her to look directly into his eyes.
“Alex, you’re smart and I know you’re tough. You’re the best climber and probably the best photographer I’ve ever worked with. But if we go after these men, you’re going to have to promise me you’ll follow orders.” He held his finger briefly to her lips, halting her protest.
“When it comes right down to it, I hired you. That not only makes me the boss, it makes me responsible. I don’t want you, or me, taking any unnecessary risks. This whole idea is stupid enough.”
“Well . . .” She looked away, toward the cliffs. “It’s pretty much a lost cause anyway, since they’ve been gone now for over an hour. We don’t even know what direction they headed after they trashed our camp.”
“I think I know where they are.”
“What? But how . . . ?” She sat down again, legs suddenly shaky.
“I remember Roger telling me about an old mine not far from here. We didn’t have time to go look at it last year, but it would be a perfect hideout for vermin.” Nate pointed north, along the face of the precipice in the distance. “I think the entrance is under that overhanging boulder where we saw them earlier. If we’re really careful, we might be able to get close enough to at least save some of the pottery. Alex, we’ve got to find out if those pots are tied to the carvings. What if the Maya were the Spirit Walkers? The pottery could be an important link.”
“You’re crazier than I am, ya know?” She probably looked like a grinning idiot, but he was taking her seriously, considering an idea she’d offered up. She liked that. A lot.
Nate grinned back at her. “Yeah,” he said. “I know.” He was actually basking in her sudden approval, at the same time wondering why it was so important to him that they work together. Wondering how in the hell they were going to pull this off.
The study, the petroglyphs, were important. They were the whole reason for this trip in the first place, weren’t they? But Alex was important, too. Their interaction on the cliff today, her bravery in spite of her fear, the unexpected laughter—there was so much more to her than he’d first assumed.
After little more than a day, after merely scraping the surface of this enigmatic woman, Alex mattered to him. Probably a lot more than she should. He wanted time to think about that, but for now they needed to get moving.
He reached down, took her hand and helped her to her feet. “Grab your lightest camera, any charged batteries that work with it, and plenty of water.” Sighing, he added, “They trashed your solar panels. I hope you’ve got enough charge to get some pictures.”
When she nodded, he glanced about the small clearing and finally saw a rotted tree that looked like it would work. There was a deep fissure near the roots and an opening that didn’t appear to harbor any critters. “Let’s leave the rest of your stuff here so we’ll have less to carry.”
Alex finished loading freshly charged batteries in her small digital camera. She took a couple of minutes to download all the pictures from it and the other cameras to a thumb drive before handing the drive to Nate along with the rest of her equipment.
Nate enclosed everything in the waterproof sack, then stuck it deep in a hole in the rotten wood. Alex opened her fanny pack, pulled out a sandwich and a couple of apples. She offered half of the sandwich to Nate.
“Thanks.” He took a big bite out of it. “I probably should have gone back for my pack, but peanut butter and jelly didn’t seem all that important at the time.”
“I’d rather eat it than carry it,” Alex said between bites. “What about our supplies at camp? Did they find the storage locker?”
“It’s all gone.” Nate thought of the wanton destruction of expensive supplies. “They ripped up the tents, destroyed all the food and the solar panels, and scattered what they didn’t break. It’s a mess.”
“What about your notes, all your records?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t look for them. All I thought about was finding the radio. Once I saw they’d trashed it, I wanted to get back here to see if you were okay.” He reached out to touch one of the tiny cuts high on her cheekbone. She had wiped away most of the blood, but the scratches were still obvious. Nate clenched his teeth against a hopeless sense of overwhelming rage.
“I’m okay.” She seemed to know what he was thinking, to understand his anger. “Do you have any kind of plan?”
“Not really.” He flashed her a quick smile. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. C’mon. This was all your idea in the first place.”
“You insisted you were the boss. I’m merely waiting for my orders.” She shook her head slowly and then smiled as she finished shoving her few belongings into her fanny pack. “I’d suggest we find them and take it from there.”
Nate wondered if either of them had any sense at all.
They filled empty water bottles at the spring, then salvaged what little they could from the demolished camp. Nathan checked the food locker again and found a couple of granola bars. Alex looked for her extra camera equipment. Her cameras along with their climbing gear were gone.
Nate found a scrap of paper, part of one of his notebooks, and wrote a quick note to Roger Dalton. “Roger’s going to get worried if he doesn’t hear from us in a day or two.” He tacked the note to a nearby tree. “I generally call in every other day or so. You can bet if he doesn’t hear by Thursday, he’ll be up here to check on us. At least this way he’ll come looking for us. We don’t have any other way to contact him.”
He looked around the cluttered campsite, allowing himself a brief moment of mourning over the disruption of his research project. Somehow he would make them pay.
“We’d better get going.” He sighed, then smiled grimly at Alex. “If they’re at the mine I’m thinking about, it’s only about half a mile away, but the going is pretty rough and we’ll have to sneak in. The only chance we have to do anything at all is if we surprise them.”
They headed north, parallel to the towering cliffs, where they could stay hidden in the deep forest that ran along the base. The dark woods seemed unusually quiet, the only sounds the gentle whisper of the summer breeze and the harsh cry of a hawk circling high above the precipice.
Nate tried to focus on a plan—any plan—but his mind was filled with Alex. With her scent, her smile, and the inescapable fact they were headed into danger and he had no idea how to keep her safe.
Chapter 7
“Listen.” Nate held his finger to his lips and motioned to Alex. She crouched beside him in the tall ferns and scrub willows that grew thick and damp along the border of the forest.
Perfect cover for the two of them.
A man’s voice carried from just beyond the edge of the trees.
“It sounds like the guy with the assault rifle, the one they called Duke.” Alex’s lips brushed Nate’s ear as she spoke. “Can you tell what he’s saying?”
She was so close, Nate could feel the words she whispered into his ear and the heat from her body where it burned along the length of his.
“No,” he whispered. “I think they’ve gone back into the mine. I’m going to move a little closer.”
And a little farther away from Alex. He had to put some distance between them. Either that or grab her up into his arms again and do something totally inappropriate. He’d never been so aware of a woman before, never reacted on such a visceral level to a woman’s touch, her scent, to the tilt of her head or the unspoken questions in her eyes.
Danger was all around them, and yet his focus had been so entirely on Alex he’d not even noticed the sounds of the men speaking. If he didn’t keep his mind in the game the repercussions could be deadly. That alone should be all the incentive he needed to pay attention to anything but Alex.
Except what sounded so great in theory was hell on the application. Something was happening between them. Something that had nothing to do with ancient spirits or drug smugglers. It wasn’t just chemistry. It was much more than mere physical need and it was happening way too fast. Alex had to feel it, but she denied it. Why?
Inching forward through the heavy brush, Nate accepted the fact that while he’d never entirely understood women, he didn’t understand Alex at all. She was passionate one moment, cold and remote the next. She leaned into him and practically purred when he held her, then she pushed him away and put up walls of defense.
A twig crackled loudly beneath his knee. Nate froze, listening, forcing thoughts of Alex out of his mind. His thundering heartbeat and ragged breathing overwhelmed the soft forest sounds. He waited, inhaling slowly and deeply, forcing control on a body that wanted to jump and run like hell in the opposite direction.
The mechanical hum of cicadas crawled along his nerves, then abruptly stopped. Started again. A bird called, a jay of some kind, loud, brash. Nate exhaled, then took another deep breath. His heartbeat slowed, and he felt the sharpening of senses that comes with a rush of adrenaline.
Well, Dr. Murdock. What are you waiting for?
Cautiously he shoved the thick branches aside to study the meadow. What the hell did he do now? Sneaking up on bad guys with big guns wasn’t part of the curriculum.
The squat black body of the helicopter dominated the small clearing, an alien intrusion among the wildflowers and grasses. The area directly under the craft and for a short distance to the rocky wall of the cliffs was trampled flat, the grass and flowers crushed from many footsteps.
A black slash in the wall marked the mine entrance. There was no sign of the men, so they must be inside the mine.
Nate moved away from the protective cover of the forest, raced across a small open area on the far side of the helicopter and carefully climbed up a loose pile of rock near the base of the cliff. Out of the line of sight from the mine, he inched silently along on his belly, hiding behind scraggly shrubs growing near the rubble-strewn base until he reached an area just above the entrance. Carefully he crawled out onto a huge stone slab precariously balanced directly over the opening to the mine.
The helicopter, the men, and the mine were just beneath him.
Pressing his belly against the warm rock, Nate strained to hear the men inside.
Their voices echoed, distorted by stone walls and distance. They had to be almost finished loading the helicopter, because the craft was too small to carry much cargo.
Unless he or Alex could think of something soon, the trio would be airborne, the pottery lost.
The voices drew closer. Nate had to get off the rock. Now. He glanced in Alex’s direction. She’d gone! He looked across the clearing and along the edge of the forest. Where the hell was she?
Creeping forward on the rock, he risked exposure, but it was the only way to get a better view of the surrounding woods.
He couldn’t see her anywhere.
Voices directly below startled him. Nate was trapped, unprotected on a slab of rock a dozen feet off the ground. He held his breath, listening, then exhaled a long sigh of relief when the voices faded as the men retreated deeper into the mine.
Suddenly movement, a slight motion near the small craft, caught his attention. Alex? What the hell!
As if she’d heard his silent imprecation, Alex glanced his way. Nate felt the connection cross the distance between them.
What was she doing?
He started to back down the rock, then stopped. She was reaching into the helicopter’s engine compartment, doing something to the vast array of cables and wires and parts that were the guts of the thing.
Unsure whether to laugh at her audacity or curse out of fear for her, Nate moved faster. His boot slipped. Small pebbles bounced and skittered down the steep surface. The gravelly clatter stopped him, stopped his breathing and his inaudible cursing. Nate clung to the rock, fighting gravity, praying that no one in the mine had heard the noise.
“Hey, Sid. Didja hear that?”
“Yeah. It’s just Ed.”
“No, Ed’s with me. Check on it, will ya?”
Nate felt his fingers slipping, his grip on the rock’s steep surface giving way. He focused on Alex, watched her race from the helicopter back to the safety of the trees. A moment longer, that’s all she needed. He had to hold on!
But he couldn’t. Skidding, tearing the skin from palms and fingertips and cheek, Nate slid the rest of the way down the slanted rock. He landed with a thud almost at Sid’s feet.
“Hey, guys. Look what I found!”
Nathan raised his head, then reached up to brush his hair out of his eyes. Cold steel against his temple stopped him.
“Sit up. I want a look atcha.”
Nate felt the rifle barrel bite into his temple.
Slowly, so as not to offend Sid, Nate rolled into a sitting position and silently raised both hands. He linked his fingers together behind his head and quickly stole a glance in the direction of the helicopter.
No sign of Alex. Thank God.
“Well, well. One of our tourists, Sidney?” Ed walked around in front of Nate. He motioned to the cowboy to pull the gun barrel back from Nate’s temple. Nate felt the slight hesitation before Sid complied.
Ed knelt, putting himself on eye level with Nate. “We saw two tents. Where’s your friend?”
“I’m alone.” Nate’s answer drew a cruel smile from Sid, a sadistic cackle from Ed.
“Two tents for one man? I don’t think so. And those cute little pink panties? A big guy like you?” Ed’s laughter crawled over Nate’s body.
Rage coiled in his gut. This scum had no business handling Alex’s things, violating her. Breathing deeply, he fought for control. He would need his anger later. “She’s gone. She left, went for help. I came here alone to see what was going on. I . . . unh!”
Ed’s pointed boot caught Nate just under the ribs, hard against his side, and sent him sprawling into the dust. He wanted to retch, to curse. But all he could do was lay there gasping for air, facedown in the dirt.
Finally he struggled to his knees and elbows.
Swaying on all fours, Nate glimpsed the descending rifle butt out of the corner of his eye. A glancing blow to the back of his head stunned him. He collapsed onto the rocky ground. Lights flashed behind his eyes and pain danced across the back of his skull.
“Anything you want to say now?” Ed’s question came from far away. Nate had to think a moment before the words made sense.
“I said
now
!”
Nate was suddenly yanked upright. Sharp rocks bit into his knees and pain exploded across his cheekbone and jaw. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.
“Where’s the woman?”
“I . . . don’t . . . know.” Fireworks erupted out of the top of his head. But he had to stall these men. He had to give Alex the chance to run.
“We don’t have time for this.” Sid’s nasal voice ebbed and flowed with the throbbing pain that pulsed and pounded in Nate’s skull.
“You’re right.” Ed pushed Nate with one pointed toe, tumbling him back to the ground. “What d’ya think we should do with him?”
“We can’t let’m go. There’s too much at stake here.”
Nate heard an underlying question in Sid’s statement. With a sinking feeling, he realized whatever Ed commanded, Sid would do.
“Find Duke. He can handle this one.”
“He was at the chopper, last I saw.”
Nate heard Sid walk away.
“I don’t see him.” The footsteps returned.
Struggling to open his eyes, Nate focused on the worn toes of cowboy boots just inches from his nose.
“I’m over here.” Duke’s voice sounded distant, distorted by the pounding in Nate’s head. “I thought I saw something in the trees. Whatever it was, I lost it.”
Thank God. Alex got away. Nate relaxed a little, imagining her running cross-country for help, those gorgeous long legs carrying her closer to safety, closer to Roger and the other rangers. Closer to help.
“Sid, tie him up in the mine. We haven’t got time to mess with him. The woman could be halfway to a phone by now.”
Rough hands grabbed Nate by the collar and belt and jerked him upright. He felt the rifle’s sharp barrel pressing into his spine. Alex was free. She was going for help. He could hang on until she got back.
Sid forced him into the mine. He stumbled on the rough surface as they entered through a narrow tunnel, but the constant pressure of the rifle barrel against his lower back was plenty of incentive to keep Nate moving.
After a few paces, they stepped into a larger cavern.
“Tie him good and tight, Sid. There, against that beam. Hurry up, will ya? This place gives me the creeps.”
The interior of the mine was cool and dark, the narrow entrance heavily reinforced with thick redwood timbers. Nate stumbled again, his vision blurred by either sweat or blood. He blinked and tried to focus, but Sid grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, and slammed him against a rough-hewn redwood beam. It didn’t take much to push him to the ground.
Nate feared his shoulders might dislocate when Sid tied his hands, wrapped the heavy twine around the huge timber, and then circled it back around again to tighten the ropes from Nate’s elbows to his wrists. His hands started tingling almost immediately from the lack of circulation. He groaned when Sid gave the rope binding his arms an extra tug.
“I don’t like this, Ed.” Sid bent to tie Nate’s feet together and Nate fought a suicidal urge to kick the weaselly bastard in the face. “He’s seen us. I don’t like it a bit.”
“Don’t worry. This is Duke’s department.”
Sid chuckled at Ed’s comment, a nasty sound without humor, then stood up, wiping his hands on his pants. “Well, pretty boy. Your face don’t look nearly as good as it did a while ago. But I guess that won’t matter to you anymore, will it?”
Nate glared at him. The taste of blood was hot in his mouth, anger and frustration boiled in his veins. He wanted to feel Sid’s scrawny neck between his hands. The image filled Nate’s mind until his fingers ached with the need to twist the life from the bastard. He clenched his fists, well aware his fingers were already numb as the ropes cut into his forearms.
Ed and Sid left the huge cavern and their laughter echoed down the narrow tunnel. Nate took a deep breath, strangely shaken. He was not a violent man, but the image of his own hands wrapped around Sid’s neck had been vivid, the desire to kill, a need as elemental as breathing.
But was it his need? His desire? There’d almost been a sense of something else.
Someone
else.
There was a subtle prickling along his spine and he was almost positive he sensed a vague presence. The sensation grew stronger. Within seconds, his senses cleared and his body practically vibrated with a feeling of renewed strength.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for him to free himself.
Nate struggled, but the ropes held fast. He tried to focus on the presence but it was gone. Or, more likely, never existed. Getting the crap beat out of him seemed to be having a strange effect on his mental processes.
He leaned his head back against the heavy beam, then winced in pain. One possible concussion, courtesy of Sid and his rifle butt. He definitely owed Sid a few bruises.
But murder? Was his veneer of civilization so thin?
He had to escape.
Enough light filtered through the opening to the mine for Nate to get a fairly good look at his surroundings. It was larger inside than he’d expected, supported by heavy redwood timbers, but there were stalactites along the ceiling and strange rock formations that disappeared into the darkness of the far wall. Frowning, he tried to make sense of what he was seeing, but it took what felt like an agonizing amount of time for the anomalies to make sense—the ringing in his ears and the pain in his head didn’t help.
It’s a cave, not a mine!
It wasn’t man-made at all. The entrance had obviously been reinforced, but it was still a natural cave. No wonder it was nothing more than a slash in the mountainside.
He studied the main cavern as well as he could, tied so tightly to the supporting beam. But now he looked with new interest. Had the Spirit Walkers stayed here? Did this cavern hold their secrets?
Had he felt their presence?
No. Impossible.
Carvings in stone were one thing, ghosts an entirely different story. Not going there. Not at all. He shook his head.
Shit. That hurt.
The throbbing pain in his skull had the walls slowly spinning. He choked back the nausea rolling over him and held perfectly still until it subsided. What the hell was he thinking?